The invention relates to the automated dispensing of a carbonated beverage into open containers.
The present invention arose during ongoing efforts by the inventor to improve carbonated beverage dispensing systems. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,363 entitled "Apparatus For Dispensing A Carbonated Beverage With Minimal Foaming", issuing on Feb. 18, 1997, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,732 issuing on Oct. 22, 1996, both incorporated herein by reference, the inventor discloses systems for dispensing carbonated beverage, such as beer or soda, into an open container. The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. 5,603,363 discloses the bottom filling of carbonated beverage into an open container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,732 discloses the use of a bar code reader to read indicia on the open container when placed beneath the nozzle that indicates the volume of the open container in order to automate the dispensing procedure, and preferably various aspects of on site accounting and inventory procedures. In these systems, the carbonated beverage is dispensed from a nozzle that has an outlet port placed near the bottom of the open container, i.e. the open container is bottom filled.
As discussed in the above incorporated patents, carbonated beverage often foams while being dispensed into the serving container using conventional filling dispensing systems. This is particularly true when ice and carbonated soft drinks are dispensed into an open container. As a consequence, personnel operating the dispenser must fill the serving container until the level of foam reaches the brim and then wait for the foam to settle before adding additional carbonated beverage. In some instances, several iterations of this process must occur before the container is filled with liquid to the proper serving level. "Topping Off" necessitated by the foaming of the beverage prolongs the dispensing operation and impedes the ability to fully automate the dispensing of the carbonated soft drink. Nevertheless, many establishments have push button activated taps that automatically dispense measured quantities of carbonated beverage. Normally, this automated equipment only partially fills the serving container and the user must still manually "top off" the container after the foam from the automated step settles in order to dispense the proper serving quantity.